Rugged Ryo Returns - 米国に石川遼を返します

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Did you ever think you'd see Ryo Ishikawa in a lumberjack shirt?

Neither did I, but that's just what he was wearing yesterday, layered under a black puffer vest.  The scene was  Narita Airport  and Ryo was enroute to the USA... where he'll be playing in a number of events leading up to The Masters.

The PGA Tour season actually started a few weeks ago, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't begin to feel like spring until the whimsical Mr. Ishikaw arrives on our shores with his awesome talent in tow... and an army of Japanese paparazzi following along.

Though the precocious Japanese mega-star hasn't yet turned twenty, it seems like I've be writing about him for years.   When it comes to golf apparel, Ryo style is all about exuberant color.  His outfits and his equipment is Yonex, and he's partial to pink ... and blue, green, red, yellow, orange, etc... and he wears them all well.  I look forward to the multi-chromatic display that'll begin when he hits the fairways of Rivera Country Club in a couple of weeks at the Northern Trust Open.

If you're a fan of the Bashful Prince, you're probably still a bit incredulous about his rugged, wintery logger-look and dark monochromatic layering.  Here's a video clip from yesterday's press conference for a closer look.  Ryo's been quoted as saying he's determined to show people "show people what a Japanese golfer can do in the Masters"  to that end he's been working with a personal trainer ... and it looks like he's bulked up a bit.



Many thanks once again to my awesome friend Noriko for keeping me posted on Ryo's whereabouts.